This thesis is concerned with two of Mohandas K. Gandhi’s campaigns in the period of 1932 to 1934, namely the temple-entry campaign and the travelling campaign against untouchability. The thesis is a study of Gandhi’s attempt to mobilise Indians in two campaigns that were not focused on an external adversary, like the colonial power, but on issues within Indian society. It was Gandhi’s opinion that internal issues like untouchability had to be solved so that Indian society could obtain swaraj, what Gandhi defined as independence in every way – personally, in Indian society and the colonial power.

Gandhi’s goal in the two campaigns was the abolition of untouchability, a complex issue Gandhi believed was wholly connected to religious tradition. (by ”untouchable” I refer to the group of Hindus outside of the religious varna-system, who are regarded as religiously and socially impure). The goal of this thesis is to show that Gandhi attempted to mobilise Indians by using traditional Hindu values and that Gandhi mobilised supporters in spite of the fact that some of them either did not understand or chose not to follow Gandhi’s interpretation of religion and untouchability.

Gandhi was imprisoned during most of the temple-entry campaign, which started as a campaign focused on opening one temple in Guruvayur, Kerala, for untouchables. He manages to start an organisation that would fight for the abolition of untouchability, Harijan Sevak Sangh, and spread his views through his organisation and newspapers. The opening of temples for untouchables was controversial and Gandhi and his supporters were, as a result, faced with diverse opposition from, among others, orthodox Hindus.

The second campaign, namely the travelling campaign against untouchability, had a wider focus: instead of focusing solely on temples, Gandhi and his supporters also collected funds for untouchables to build schools, temples, wells and, not the least, teach untouchables the spinning of khadi, hand-spun, hand-woven Indian cotton. Gandhi and a small entourage travelled to over two hundred locations in India where Gandhi propagated his view on Indian society and his ideal version of it. The campaign lasted for nine months and ended when an earthquake in Bihar demanded Gandhi’s full attention.